


Your Eyes Tell

by sunkin



Category: ENHYPEN (Band)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blind Character, Blind Sunoo, Boxer Ni-ki, Confessions, Depression, Disability, Falling In Love, Fights, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by Your Eyes Tell (2020), Jealousy, M/M, Medical Conditions, Mental Health Issues, Plot, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Trauma, but he's a good boy trust me, it's angst but it's fluff, ni-ki has anger issues, ni-ki is scared to love, sunoo is scared to be loved
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:29:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27052696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunkin/pseuds/sunkin
Summary: Ni-ki chuckles and slowly leans in even more. Now, their noses were touching. "You have to trust me. In a world without light, I'll be your eyes."Sunoo's thumbs linger over Ni-ki's lips, gingerly touching them before leaning closer and whispering, "Well then...I trust you with all my heart."Alternatively; Kim Sunoo lost his eyesight in a past accident. While trying to enjoy the little things in his life, Sunoo struggles to live happily. One day, Sunoo bumps into Ni-ki -- a once promising kickboxer before something in his past caused him to disassociate himself from everyone. Sunoo's smile brings out a change in Ni-ki, as Ni-ki's determination to help Sunoo in any way he can brings out hope for Sunoo.
Relationships: Kim Sunoo/Nishimura Riki | Ni-ki
Comments: 16
Kudos: 153





	1. Buy or Leave

**Author's Note:**

> Although this is inspired by the Japanese movie 'Your Eyes Tell', it doesn't accurately follow the storyline. As of the day we are writing this, the movie hasn't released yet. However, we will be making dialogue references from the trailer in later chapters (wink wink) (nudge nudge).
> 
> ~ Enjoy
> 
> ⚠️ Gentle reminder: This story is purely fictional!  
> Everything we post here doesn’t involve the in real life personalities and lives of the members in any way. ⚠️

Sunoo sighs as he feels the first drop of rain hit his head. He knew he should’ve brought an umbrella today. He tentatively leans down and sets his grocery bags on the ground before patting his back pockets, searching for his phone. Once he finds it, he looks around and searches for a voice.

“Excuse me!” Sunoo exclaims to a man who sounds like he’s occupied by a phone. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but can you please help me? I need to call my cousin.”

“Why can’t you call them yourself…” the man trails off mid-argument. Sunoo assumes he saw the walking stick he’s holding by his side as his tone changes almost instantly. “A-Ah, I’m so sorry!”.

Sunoo clenches his jaw and resists the urge to roll his eyes at the man's exclamation. Because as much as he appreciates people lending him a hand (hell, it’s better than them purposely ignoring him), he doesn’t need to hear them apologize in that pitiful tone. For so many years, people have only been talking to him in that tone. And if not that, they’ll cautiously watch what they say or hesitate whenever they try to start a conversation with him. And Sunoo doesn't understand why. He's been in situations where someone asks another for help with something as mundane as carrying their groceries, and they wouldn't hesitate to mutter a quick 'sure!' or 'no problem!' and help out. Their tone of voice remains casual and curt, not pitiful.

People help out other people because they sincerely need help.

People help out Sunoo because they pity him. They help out because he's blind, helpless, weak. Unable to do anything.

It's tiring.

“Please don’t be sorry, sir—“ Sunoo starts to say, but he’s cut off when he feels the man take his phone and ask for his hyung’s number. He sheepishly recites it. After a few seconds, he feels a hand take his and gently place his phone in it. He bows respectfully to the man (if the man was still even there and hadn’t already taken off) as he adjusts the phone to his ear.

The phone keeps ringing for a couple of minutes until a sleepy voice picks up from the other line: “Hello?”

“Jay hyung, please tell me you can come pick me up. It's starting to rain here.” Sunoo whines as the rain starts pouring harder.

“Aish— Sunoo I’m busy right now! Just wait for me at the arcade, so you won’t get wet. You know where it is right?” Before Sunoo could answer, a loud noise of something dropping made him move the phone away from his ear. “Shit, I have to go. I’m on my way! Just wait for me!”

And just like that, Jay hangs up.

"Perfect.” Sunoo snorts. He stands helplessly in the rain for a moment, listening for anyone walking past. There are cars honking down the street. He thinks he hears a dog barking a few feet away from him. But there’s no audible sign of people walking by.

Not seeing even a slight hope of asking someone for help, Sunoo picks up his grocery bags and wanders away from the market, tapping his walking stick as he goes.

‘The arcade shouldn’t be far from here. I was just at the supermarket, so it should just be down the street.’

\---

After walking for what felt like an hour, Sunoo stops and leans against a wall. ‘Where am I?’ . He listens for any familiar sounds — for the barking dogs from the vet clinic across the arcade; for the ring of the bell from the restaurant next to that.

But nothing sounds familiar.

_‘Shit…I’m lost’_

As if his day couldn’t get any worse, here he was lost on a street he doesn’t even know, standing under the pouring rain. “Lucky me”, Sunoo grumbles and slowly starts patting the brick wall next to him.

_‘If I keep walking, I’ll find something. I have to find something’._

And that’s when he finally hears it: a faint _ting_ of a bell not so far away. Sunoo starts walking to where the sound came from, but his feet stumble on a curb. And where there's a curb, there's a road in front of him. He cautiously puts his foot on the pavement. It's slippery from the rain. His ears pick up the sound of cars speeding past him left and right. But they also pick up that bell. Sunoo breathes in shakily and reassures himself before crossing the road.

Sunoo staggers in his steps, frantically hearing for any cars coming his way. He continues tapping his walking stick on the pavement, both to get some sense of direction and to keep him somewhat grounded.

Miraculously, Sunoo makes it across the street. He lets out a shaky breath and readjusts his senses. The faint ting sounds closer now — just down the sidewalk to his right. In a matter of seconds, he stumbles down the sidewalk and makes his way inside the unfamiliar. The now familiar ting of the bell chimes behind him as the door slams shut.

“Welcome…” a voice starts to say, but trails off soon after. Sunoo doesn’t even have to assume that the stranger was eyeing his current state. Or perhaps, like all the other people Sunoo's interacted with, he’s just staring at his walking stick.

Because that object alone already tells people a lot about what Sunoo is.

“Do you need any help?” Whoever’s speaking now is approaching Sunoo. Concern could be heard in his tone.

“I’m fine, thanks.” Sunoo says absently, his hands too busy searching for his phone. “Where the hell did it go…” he mumbles when his hands only dig into empty pockets.

“Are you sure?” the new voice asks again. Sunoo purses his lips and looks at the stranger, or at least where he thought the stranger was standing. _‘Man, this guy is persistent.’_

“Look, if you’re just offering help because I’m blind, then don’t. I don’t need help from someone who only pities me for that.”

As soon as Sunoo registered what he said, he immediately regretted saying anything. He feels the slight, yet unnerving shift in atmosphere as the stranger scoffs and walks away.

Sunoo curses to himself as he stumbles after the stranger. “I'm sorry! I'm just so exhausted right now and I had no idea what—“ but before he could finish his apology, a loud noise from the opposite side of the room disrupts him.

Sunoo tries again. “I—“

Another loud noise…

“Are you—“

And another…

“What—“

And another, until Sunoo gives up talking completely.

‘Are those…gunshots?’

“You…are you seriously playing video games right now?!” Sunoo couldn’t stop himself from shouting in disbelief. Sure, he was rude before, but now that he’s trying to apologize, this person is just blatantly ignoring him?

“Well, you said you didn’t want any help. So I’m being the good employee I am and leaving you be”, the stranger snidely retorts. “If you plan on staying here, I’m afraid I can’t allow that. So if you’re not planning on buying anything, just see yourself out.”

Sunoo couldn’t believe what he’s hearing. “What— but— I—“

“Wha— but— what? You heard what I said. Buy or leave.”

Sunoo breathes in sharply. At this point, he would've given up, let the stranger have his win, and march out the doors. But his gut tells him not to. He's tired of giving up so easily; tired of being treated this way. He's not leaving without a fight. “Look, I’m sorry I was rude to you earlier. It’s just been a really long day and I really need help looking for this arcade. It’s somewhere near downtown and I think—“

“Christ, does it look like I care?”

The game has paused. It’s now eerily quiet in the store. Sunoo could feel a sudden breeze run up and down his spine.

The stranger’s voice is cold. Merciless.

“Oh right, you can’t see me. So let me explain this situation to you: a stranger barges into my convenience store during my working hours. He looks lost, frustrated and angry. Plus, he’s cold and wet. I try to ask him if he needs help, but he rudely declines.”

“I-I had no idea what I was saying! I was just tired! I had a really rough day today—“

“You know what? I had a rough day as well!” the stranger abruptly shouts. “I didn’t even want to come to work today because my whole morning has been a living hell!”

Sunoo jumps at the sound of something hitting the floor. He tries to back away when he hears the stranger stomp towards him. The stranger is now so close to Sunoo that he could hear him breathing heavily down his face. They were at eye-to-eye level.

“And you marching in here and assuming that I was pitying you for your condition when I just wanted to help you wasn’t something I wanted to end the day with. So how about you do both of us a favour and leave. Go ask another person for help. Because I’m sure you wouldn’t want help from someone who only _pities_ you.”

Sunoo is painfully cold and it isn’t because of the wet clothes or the cold glass door against his back, but the stranger’s words. He wants to step forward, defend himself and scream his lungs out at the stranger. But he couldn't.

Because what the stranger just told him was true.

That moment minutes ago was the first time a stranger didn’t find Sunoo pitiful. This stranger wanted to help him because he was soaked and cold and visibly unhappy — not solely because he was blind. This stranger spoke to him without any filters, without sugarcoating any words.

This stranger before him treated him as a normal person. So in a way, Sunoo supposes he does deserve this treatment since the first thing he did was rudely accuse him.

The stranger then scoffs and walks back to his lounging area. Sunoo hears the video game start up again. And although no other words were exchanged, he takes the silence as his queue to leave, bowing his head low — a wordless apology — before heading out into the pouring rain once again.

The rain is still pouring hard, and thunder could be heard in the distance. The air is chilly, as well as the droplets that trickle down Sunoo’s neck. To add to the already terrible situation, Sunoo not only doesn’t know where he is, but now he couldn’t retrace his steps. The rain has erased any trace and scent he’s picked up from before. Agitated, he shoves his hands into his pockets, once again searching for that damned cellphone.

Just then, Sunoo hears a familiar tune — his phone. It doesn’t sound far. “God, don’t tell me." Sunoo couldn’t believe it. He really dropped his phone on the street earlier and didn’t notice until now. He then realizes someone was just calling him. Sunoo perks up, a flash of hope filling his senses. ‘Maybe it’s Jay hyung! Maybe he’s looking for me!’

So without a second thought, Sunoo recklessly approaches the street and gets down on all fours, tapping all over the pavement in search of his phone. An abrupt HONK startles him out of his search.

“Watch where you’re going, kid!”

“Sorry, sir!”

Another honk.

“I’m sorry!”

Another shout.

“I’m just looking for something!”

Minutes go by and Sunoo still couldn’t find his phone. He prays for his hyung to call again. He prays for at least someone to text. He hears another loud horn, and then the squeal of tires rapidly coming towards him. By then, his head was starting to spin and his whole body began to ache. His perception of everything is starting to become muddled.

And he feels cold. So, so cold.

“YAH! GET OFF THE ROAD!”

The last few things Sunoo registered were the agonizing screeches of a car and loud shouts coming from every direction before hitting his head on something sturdy and warm — something that definitely wasn’t the ground.


	2. Your Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ‘Why did you come here, Kim Sunoo?’
> 
> Was it to thank him? Or maybe it was because he just wanted to meet him again. To hear his voice again. To feel what he felt when he realized he was treating him as a normal human being. As just Sunoo.

It's been a day since Sunoo has been released from the hospital; a day since he's been taken to bed with a fever; and a day since someone saved him and vanished without a trace.

“Sunoo-ah~ are you still in bed?" Jay calls from outside Sunoo's bedroom door. Sunoo huffs in annoyance. It's now his twentieth time telling his worrisome cousin ‘no, he hasn't gotten out of bed. stop being such a mom.’

"Jay, leave your cousin alone." Grandpa chastises, "you've been asking that question for the past hour now. Let him rest and help me get some groceries."

Sunoo could hear Jay roll his eyes through his tone. "Okay fine. Sunoo, you better drink water before—“

"Jay, I'm leaving without you."

"Wait! Don't leave without me!"

And then the front door slams shut, leaving Sunoo lying in bed, drinking in the silent atmosphere of the library.

Sunoo lets out a sigh he didn’t know he was holding and slowly leans on his back. The events that happened yesterday are still fresh in his mind: his wet clothes, the road, the cars, and the hospital — leaving the boy wondering what happened in between. 

The first thing Sunoo registered right after the incident was when he woke up in the hospital. He remembers how worried and frantic Jay had sounded when he woke up; remembers asking Jay what had happened the night before, and what Jay had answered back:

“The guy who dropped you off here said that a friend of his found you unconscious on the street. But the doctors checked you earlier and it didn’t look like you were seriously injured.”

“‘Guy’? What ‘guy’?”

“This guy!” A new voice had entered the room.

Sunoo still vividly remembers how excited he felt once he knew the boy who saved him was there with him. He wanted to thank him (and wanted to know his name), but he eventually found out that the guy was just a friend of the person who helped him off the street. 

“Oh, you’re still here?” Jay had asked. Sunoo could’ve sworn he heard excitement in his voice.

At that, the other boy nervously laughed. “Actually I was about to leave, but I forgot about this”. Sunoo then felt something rectangular being placed in his hands, “My friend told me to give this back to you earlier. I guess you dropped it on the street.” _His phone._

“Thank you…” 

“...Heeseung.” the mystery person finished, “I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself earlier. And there’s no need to thank me, I just did what I was told to do. Maybe say thanks to my friend instead.”

After introductions were made, Heeseung stayed with them a little while longer to talk -- with Jay hyung, especially. “Anyways, feel free to stop by my bakery whenever you feel like it”, Heeseung had said before leaving him and Jay in the hospital room.

“Damn, he’s hot.”

“Hyung!”

"What? You don't like hearing your cousin get all lovey dovey over someone?" Jay teased. Sunoo faked a gag. He felt Jay aggressively ruffle his hair in response. "Seriously though, he's a pretty handsome guy...kinda jealous..."

"Oh come on! You're not that bad looking yourself!"

"Stop trying to flatter me. You don’t even know how I look."

“If you’re trying to get me to compliment every single feature on your face and boost your ego, nice try.” Sunoo smirks, “We’ve lived together for five years now. You think I already don’t know what you look like?”

"Ugh, fine! You caught me." Jay laughed.

“But seriously, hyung, why don’t you visit Heeseungie hyung’s bakery? Who knows, maybe he finds you cute too.” Sunoo gently teased, only to receive a light smack on his shoulder. 

“Trust me, I could never get on his level.” 

Sunoo chuckles as he remembers how overdramatic Jay was that day (and how he was undoubtedly crushing over the baker). ‘Wish I could have a crush too. Can’t remember how that felt like’, Sunoo thinks to himself before allowing his eyelids to shut. He stays there on his bed, listening to the rain pattering gently against the window, and slowly falls asleep.

* * *

Sunoo abruptly wakes up a few hours later to the sound of the front door slamming shut. 

“Sunoo! We’re back!” Jay shouts from downstairs. From the sound of it, they have a lot of groceries in hand. Sunoo groans as he sits up from bed, about to help them with the groceries--

“Don’t shout! He has a headache!” Sunoo hears Grandpa scold back at Jay. “Sunoo, you don’t have to come down and help. Just stay where you are and get more rest.”

“Yeah, go back to sleep. We’ll call you down when dinner is ready.”

At that, Sunoo nods and slowly heads back to his room. But as he’s about to plop back down on the bed, his hyung shouts once again: “By the way, I found your walking stick. You were wondering where you left it, right?”

All the fatigue in Sunoo’s body suddenly evaporates at the news. “Where did you find it?”

“I found it at this convenience store we were in. It was behind the counter. The employee working there said it was probably left by the guy working the night shift.”

_'The guy working the night shift'. It had to be him._

"W-what street is it on?"

"Why? I already told the employee to tell him I said thanks."

"I...um…I want to thank the guy myself."

"What?! No, no, no.” Sunoo's grandpa is quick to cut in and scold, “you aren’t going anywhere with that fever of yours.”

"But Grandpa—“

"No buts! Now get back to bed. Jay, go cook dinner now."

Sunoo really wants to obey his grandpa. He knows better than anyone else how sick he was; his head sporadically spinning and his breathing heavier than usual. And it’s not like he wants to disobey his Jay hyung either because he knows very well how much he cares about him and his health. And for sure Sunoo doesn’t want him to worry. 

But still he couldn’t fight his desire to find that stranger again; to thank him for keeping his walking stick and most importantly to know if it was really him who saved him.

Sunoo had an idea about the whole situation, but at the same time he didn’t want to sound delusional nor pathetic so he thought the sooner he finds out the truth, the sooner he’ll stop making a fool of himself.

So when his hyung lets himself into Sunoo’s room carrying his dinner, he feels slightly guilty for what he’s about to do. "Hey hyung," Sunoo tentatively starts, "What does that convenience store sell? Like, do they have any of that sweet chocolate candy you and I like?"

"Uhh no.” Jay answers, setting the tray of food down on Sunoo’s bedside table, “It just had chips and snacks and the usual stuff they sell at other convenience stores. Surprisingly they sell meat there too -- and for a pretty cheap price."

"Hmm, it sounds like a nice store. Maybe I'll stop by there some time."

"Wait, you haven't been there? I thought you would've, considering your walking stick was left there."

_'Shit. shit. shit.'_

"Uhh, no! Yesterday I was looking for some shelter from the rain and ran into...the building…beside the convenience store..."

"...you mean the bakery?"

"Yes! the bakery! but then I realized I dropped my phone on the road, so I went back to get it. and that's where I left my walking stick."

"On the side of the road?"

"...yeah."

There’s an awkward pause between the two of them before Jay hums and says, "okay. I was just confused on how you couldn’t have been at the convenience store that time. But anyways, it's a pretty cool store. Y'know, they also have a gaming console setup there! Maybe we could hang out and play there sometime."

Sunoo lets out something between a scoff and a chuckle. _'That goddamn gaming console...'_

"Yeah, it sounds like fun. What street is it on again?"

"Insadong. It's not that far from here."

Sunoo perks up, "Okay! Thanks hyung! I'll keep that in mind."

As soon as he finishes eating, Sunoo feels his cousin’s hands gently take a hold of his and stroke his thumbs on them. “Get well soon, okay? You could go back to sleep now, I’ll take care of the dishes.”

When Jay finally leaves the room, Sunoo feels a knot build up in his stomach. Something’s telling him that maybe what he’s doing isn’t the right thing to do. But Sunoo stubbornly ignores it and waits for his grandpa to turn off the lightswitch, making sure that both him and Jay are fast asleep.

Sunoo stands at attention a little more before getting up, searching for a warm jacket in his closet and silently heading for the front door. He puts on his shoes and just when he’s about to unlock the door, he loses his balance for a few seconds. His headache and his fever alleging him one last time. But that just helped him remember to search for his walking stick in the entrance hall. 

“This will be enough for me,” he assures himself before heading outside, making sure to make no sound at all as he closes the door behind him. After turning on his phone, he presses the home button and calls for Siri.

“Insadong...Insadong...” Sunoo keeps repeating to himself, his phone clutched tightly in his hand. 

“Your destination is 300m on your right”. Sunoo almost lets out a yelp when he hears the electronic voice speak. He quickly lowers the volume, in fear of waking up the whole neighbourhood, and continues down the street to his right. It’s eerily quiet, save for a few tree branches rustling in the autumn breeze. Sunoo breathes in the night air, soothing him from all his growing worries.

'He'll be fine. It'll only take a few minutes...'

* * *

It didn’t take him a few minutes.

Sunoo actually doesn’t remember how long it’s been. Somewhere along the way, his breathing became heavy, his head began to spin, and his legs became wobbly, thus making him lose sense of time.

The feeling felt overwhelmingly familiar.

The electronic voice on his phone speaks up, "Your destination is straight ahead." Sunoo perks up at that and urges his legs to wake up.

"Come on...j-just a bit more..." but eventually, he feels his legs give way and he braces for impact.

As Sunoo is about to knock his head against the pavement, however, someone catches him. Warm, sturdy arms wrap around his torso, supporting his body as he stands up.

"My god, is this how we're always gonna meet?"

Sunoo hears that familiar voice tsk above him. He opens his eyes slightly and he finds himself thinking how much he’d like to see the person helping him up. 

A question lingering on his tongue since the moment he woke up in that hospital tumbles out of his lips: "...so you were the one who saved me that night?”

The stranger slowly got up, straightening both him and Sunoo, and his arms didn’t seem to want to let him go. “Of course it was me.” the stranger snorts again. “Who else could it have been? I was the only one working extra late that night.”

“But why? It doesn’t make sense. You told me yourself that you didn’t want to help someone who thinks you’re pitying them”, Sunoo whispers, a sense of shame coming back to himself, remembering how rude he had been to the stranger. 

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. I just saved you because I didn’t want a dead body in front of my workplace.” the stranger argues back with a scoff. “Let’s get inside now. You look terrible... I don’t want you passing out in my arms again.”

Once they make it inside, the stranger flicks on the lights and settles Sunoo down on a couch. It feels worn from years of use, but it’s comfortable none-the-less. He hears the stranger sigh as he walks away to another part of the store. The stranger comes back seconds later, dumping big, fluffy blankets on him. "Keep yourself warm. I'm going to cook some noodle soup."

Sunoo opens his mouth.

"Don't even try and reject it. Your body felt hot just now and you look like you're about to pass out any second." The stranger is quick to chastise, "Y'know, it's pretty stupid of you to decide to walk outside when you have a fever."

Sunoo could hear the stranger rummage through shelves, searching for something. A few various curses and moments of awkward silence later, his food is finally in front of him.

“T-thank you so much, you really didn’t have to—“ Sunoo tried to speak as soon as he felt a hot bowl being placed in his hands, but was soon shut down by the other: “Stop saying 'thank you, I'm sorry, didn’t mean to…' and yadda yadda. What happened, happened. Now just eat.”

For the first time ever, Sunoo doesn’t know how to reply. So he settles on doing as he’s told, leaning his head towards the cup of noodles. It’s hot, the steam surrounding his face, warming him up. Sunoo shoves a spoonful of noodles in his mouth and hums in delight, “This is so good!"

"It's literally just packaged noodles boiled down, but sure. Whatever you say." the stranger retorts, a slight smile could be heard in his voice.

"But I don't remember packaged noodles coming with beef and vegetables."

"...Okay, I may have added a few more things to it. But still, it isn't anything to be thrilled over."

"I would say it's pretty good for packaged noodles." Sunoo smiles, slurping another spoon of noodles.

”Jeez, stop talking while you're eating. You’re getting it all over you”, the stranger tells him and Sunoo replies with a pout but was interrupted when he felt a wet tissue gently put on his lips... well, maybe it was more likely thrown against his lips. But still, Sunoo found it kinda cute. 

“Thank you” he stutters, and he swears he can hear the other boy tsk for the eleventh time tonight.

“Jeez, you’re acting like a love-struck middle schooler. Getting dirty while eating, stuttering while speaking, fainting every time I walk by.”

Sunoo should be offended, or usually he would have been offended the slightest, but here he was, laughing out loud, causing himself to almost choke. 

“Oh for Christ sake—“ the boy groans, now next to him trying to calm him down, “You’re really something else.”

Once Sunoo has finished calming down, he sets the bowl of noodles on the table and scooches a little on the couch to give the stranger some space. "Well, anyways. I just came here to say—“

“—thank you. I know. Sung-- I mean, the employee from earlier already told me that your cousin said thanks."

"I know! I-I just wanted to thank you myself."

"Oh...uh...your welcome, I guess", the stranger awkwardly mutters. "Is that all you're here for?"

At the question, Sunoo spaced out for a moment.

_'Is that all I'm here for?'_

Sunoo knew how determined he was before about finding the stranger again and thanking him for saving him... but was that the only reason? The way his heart was aching in the past days, was because of the headache? The blush he felt on his cheeks earlier when he was saved for the second time in a row, was that because of his fever too?

Or was it because of something more?

He looked down, incapable to say a single word straight. “I-I came here...” 

‘Why did you come here, Kim Sunoo?’ 

Was it to thank him? Or maybe it was because he just wanted to meet him again. To hear his voice again. To feel what he felt when he realized he was treating him as a normal human being. As just Sunoo.

“I came here... t-to know you”

Silence enveloped them.

“What’s your name?”

The stranger in question, however, doesn’t answer. A few seconds pass. Then minutes. And now Sunoo is certain an hour has gone by since he's popped the question.

“I-I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?" Sunoo frantically asks.

"No, it's just…I’m confused. Why? I'm just another person you met. Why would you want to know my name? Why would you want to know _me_?”

"Because..." Sunoo couldn't find it in himself to explain the reason completely. So instead, he settles with, "Because you almost saved me from getting run over by a car. So that makes you a pretty important person to me."

Sunoo holds his breath, the uncertainty of what the other is going to say, tormenting him. Finally, after interminable minutes of silence, the boy next to him says: “It sounds like I’m some kind of superhero or some shit when you say it like that.” 

“I—“, Why did he always have to leave him without words? He keeps on taking his breath away with his sharp and bitter responses and Sunoo really doesn’t know why, but he’s convinced he’s starting to take a strange liking to them.

The stranger chuckles at Sunoo’s reaction before slipping his hand into the other’s and giving him a firm handshake.

"Nishimura Riki."

Sunoo smiles and grips the hand in return. "Kim Sunoo."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii~ happy sunki day everyone!! 
> 
> We’re so sorry to keep you waiting for so long but we ended up with updating our story today to celebrate with everyone. (But we’ll be more active as soon as we’ll have more time, so stay tuned umbrellas!) 
> 
> If you want to ask anything you can find us on twt as @_incorrectsunki and @sunkissest. 
> 
> And thank you again for reading our story, hope you can give us some feedbacks and please enjoy~


	3. Ten Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What made Riki treat Sunoo like any other human being? 
> 
> This question could be answered in one of two ways: plain courtesy, an act of just treating someone like how you want them to treat you or something much deeper.

Sunoo doesn’t know how many hours have passed since he and the stranger — Riki — greeted each other, but he knows for sure that it was getting late as he hears the other boy constantly yawn from the other side of the store. He silently does so too as he stretches himself on the couch, making sure not to spill the hot cup of tea the other had given to him earlier.

Although Riki had more-or-less forced Sunoo to accept the cup of tea, he found the sentiment kinda cute.

“—Thank you for coming. Have a good night.” Sunoo hears Riki say a couple of meters away from him as he bids the customer a half-sincere farewell.

“Who the hell comes to the store at this time to buy something?” Sunoo finds himself asking the other as he approaches him again on the couch. He feels Riki shrug as he adjusts himself next to him: “I could ask the same for you.”

"I'm not here to buy anything, though." Sunoo retorts.

"Yeah, but you're still here." Riki argues back. He then sobers up and asks, "I was actually meaning to ask you about what you said earlier. I know you said you wanted to get to know me, but what exactly is there you want to know?"

This was what worried Sunoo the most when he first blurted out that answer. In all honesty, it wasn't a matter of knowing Riki in general. It was more like wanting to know what made Riki different from the others.

What made Riki treat Sunoo like any other human being?

This question could be answered in one of two ways: plain courtesy, an act of just treating someone like how you want them to treat you or something much deeper.

_'But wouldn't it be weird to tell someone that after hours of just meeting them?'_

"Uhh, hello?" Riki snaps his fingers in front of Sunoo's face, causing the latter to jump, "You're spacing out again. Are you okay? Don't tell me you're gonna faint again."

"No, I just..." Sunoo mumbles, trying hard to think of an excuse. "I've never seen you around before. You sound pretty young, so I assume you go to some school nearby, but I've never heard your name before. It sounds pretty foreign, so I just—“

"You're rambling. Get to the point already."

Sunoo resists the urge to scowl at the boy's outright disrespectful attitude. From the few hours he and Riki shared together, Sunoo now knows that the boy is always equipped with witty, straightforward answers and counters. Yet, he still can’t get used to them.

“Why are you like this?” Sunoo mumbles out of frustration and it’s only two seconds after saying it out loud that he realizes what he said. He then starts to blabber millions of excuses as he covers his mouth with his hands. It’s only when he hears the other boy laughing beside him that he finally stops from redeeming himself.

“Why am I like this? You just said that I was some kind of superhero, like, an hour ago and now you're asking me why I'm like this? Do you have a problem with my attitude, Mr. Kim Sunoo?”

"No, no, no!" Sunoo immediately cries, waving his hands in reassurance. "I'm sorry, I just find it hard to talk to people other than my family. I have no idea what to say and so I tend to ramble and say stuff I don’t mean. Plus, I'm tired and running a fever, so I don't know what I'm saying."

"Chill! I was just messing with you." Riki snickers. "But I get where you're coming from. It's been quite a while since I've tried talking to any new people, so I might come off as a little...cold. So yeah, I'm sorry if I do." Riki apologizes, although it sounds half sincere to Sunoo's ears.

Sunoo coughs, hiding his ironic chuckle behind his hand. “Anyways, what I wanted to ask was—“ But before Sunoo can finish, Riki interrupts him again.

“If you’re going to ask me to be friends with you, you can just forget it.”

Sunoo furrows his eyebrows at the boy's sudden snub. "I wasn't going to. I was going to ask if you're new around town. Like, did you just move here? Not to assume or anything! I’ve just never heard of you until now."

“Oh...well...not exactly. My family and I lived here in Korea for quite some time, we just decided to move towns last year. We've lived here for ten months now."

"So you moved here back in February? That's strange. My friend attends a school near this area, so he must have seen you at some point—”

"I don't go to school."

That caught Sunoo slightly off-guard. “You don’t?”

"Why do you sound so surprised by that?"

"Because you sound like you should be in school. Why aren’t you in school?”

It takes a long time for Riki to respond to that. For a split second, Sunoo thought the boy had left him on the couch, but then he heard him sigh and mutter something incomprehensible.

"What was that?" Sunoo asks.

"Nothing." Riki replies defensively before standing up from the couch at the ring of the bell. "Good evening sir!"

And Sunoo is left alone again, a little baffled about what just happened. 'Was I being too rude?' he wonders as he finishes his tea. The whole situation was odder than he thought. How could a boy who sounds so young (maybe even a couple of years younger than him) not be in school?

And then Sunoo realizes: tomorrow is a school day. If Riki had been going to school, how could he be working this late if there was school tomorrow? The clues are evident as to how the boy couldn’t go to school, but the question of “why” still stands.

With thousands of questions about the mysterious guy still in his mind, Sunoo slowly falls asleep on the couch, tightly wrapping the blanket around himself.

* * *

Sunoo wakes up a little later feeling much colder than before. He shivers as his hands feel for the blankets around him, but instead they clench onto...a denim jacket? The material feels even colder underneath his fingertips, only adding onto his uncomfortable state.

Why is he outside? When did he get outside?

It's only when Sunoo hears the sound of footsteps and someone grunting below him that he realizes he might not be alone. Instinctively, Sunoo begins hitting the person who's carrying him on their back again, and again, and again — each hit harder than the last.

"Ow! Ow! Calm down, it's me!" a familiar voice shouts from below. 'Riki?'

"Riki? What's going on? Why are we outside?"

"I just finished my shift. You fell asleep, so I thought it'd be nice of me to carry you."

“Well, I appreciate the nice gesture." Sunoo rolls his eyes, imitating the young boy's tone, “but I'd be less wary if you'd tell me where we're going.”

"I'm taking you to my house. I don't know this area too well, so I can't take you to your home by myself. Heeseungie hyung isn't at work today either and I don't know anyone else around here who's willing to help, so maybe my mom could."

"How do you still not know this area when you've lived here for ten months?"

"I don't live on this street, I live a little farther." Riki grunts as he adjusts Sunoo's weight on his back, "Now would you shut up? I'm already struggling with you on my back, I don't need to spend an hour hearing you complain."

At that, Sunoo shuts up. However, this only lasted for a solid ten minutes — which is a first for him since he usually can’t stay quiet for more than five (although in his defense, Jay is even worse) — as he grows more annoyed every time he hears the young boy huff and puff while carrying him. “If I’m that heavy for you, just let me down. I could walk by myself.”

“And have you faint again? Yeah, sounds like a great idea.” Riki snorts and adjusts Sunoo on his back again, this time a little less gently than before. Sunoo knows the act was intentional.

“Yah! That hurt!”

“Then shut up and stop complaining.”

“How much longer until we get to your house? What am I supposed to do then?”

“Just stay quiet, you’re irritating me."

Usually, Sunoo would be left speechless at the younger’s attitude, but this time he wouldn't let it slide. “How about we take this as an opportunity to get to know each other?"

"Why? You already know my name and how I don't go to school. Isn't that enough already?"

Sunoo pushes onward, ignoring the boy's complaints. "Let's play ten questions!"

"Ten questions?"

"Don't tell me you're that antisocial to not know this game."

Sunoo sighs, taking his silence as a 'no'. “I ask you ten questions, and then you ask me ten questions. We each only have a limit of ten, so if either of us ask more than that the other is not allowed to answer.” He feels Riki shrug underneath him.

"Fine. Only if you promise to shut up after this."

"Cross my heart and hope to die."

Riki scoffs. "What are you, five?"

Sunoo slaps Riki's arm in response.

“You go first.” Riki offers.

"Are you sure you don't want to go first?" Sunoo offers back.

“Yeah, I’m sure. You are down to nine questions now. Keep them coming."

Sunoo swears under his breath before proceeding to the next (and most awaited) question: “How old are you?”

“Seventeen.” Riki simply answers.

Sunoo, in comparison, is quite shocked. So he was right. Riki was younger than him — by two years, to be exact. But he still can’t understand why he’s not going to school at such a young age. ‘Maybe he’s homeschooled? Or maybe he was expelled?’

Sunoo keeps asking himself these questions until the boy underneath scoffs. “Has math failed you? Those were only two questions, you still have eight more to go, idiot.”

“Stop calling me that. I'm anything but an idiot.” Sunoo finally says as he comes back to his senses and of course the other boy is already irritating him.

"What do you want me to call you, then?"

"Su—"

"Sun?"

"No, Sunoo—“

"Noo-noo?"

"Oh my god, would let me—“

“Would you prefer a pet name instead? Darling? Sweetheart? Baby?" Riki's voice takes on a mischievous tone as he lists off the names.

"Sunoo!" Sunoo shouts right into Riki's ear, "Just call me Sunoo, for fucks sake!"

"Jesus! You don’t have to shout!"

“Then stop it with the weird names!” Sunoo repeats, but with a lower voice as he remembers they are walking in the middle of the night in some random street and they definitely shouldn’t scream if they don’t want some angry old man to chase their asses down.

“Then hurry up and finish your stupid game.” Riki huffs, lowering his voice as well.

“It’s not stupid.” Sunoo complains again before continuing:

“Where are you from? Like, where were you actually born?”

“Japan.”

Sunoo hums at the answer. That explains the accent. “What’s your favorite food?”

This time Riki thinks about it a little more. “Mandu and sushi. I can’t choose”.

“Mandu? You're more of a child than I thought.” Sunoo mocks, but later regrets it when the other roughly adjusts his weight on his back.

“Sorry...” Sunoo huffs. “…Is your family nice?”

"That's honestly up to you to decide. But to me, my family is pretty chill. My sister could be a little annoying at times, but well...girls are girls."

"You have a sister?”

"Yeah.”

“Older or younger?”

“Older.”

"Do you have any other siblings?"

Riki pauses before saying no.

"Was that hesitation?"

"No." Riki quickly responds, his tone shifting back to defensive, “you have one more question left.”

Sunoo remains silent for a couple of minutes, a little stumped by what just happened. He has a feeling there’s something fishy going on, but he refrains himself from asking about it. The boy would only get more defensive and Sunoo would lose possibly the one (and only) chance he has to know a little more about the somewhat cryptic guy.

“Okay, then tell me...” Sunoo trails off, contemplating the next words he’s going to ask. It shouldn’t be too personal, nor too dull or trivial, knowing how easily annoyed this guy could get with the wrong question at the wrong moment:

“What’s something that you really love to do?”

As soon as those words leave Sunoo’s lips, Riki stops in his tracks.

‘Shit, you screwed up.’ Sunoo mentally scolds himself, being afraid that he just ruined everything with that one question.

Just as Sunoo was about to mentally break down, Riki answers with probably the most cryptic thing he's said tonight:

"I don't think you'd want to know."

A wave of uneasiness washes over Sunoo. "Why not? Is it something illegal?"

"Yah, that was your last question. No more asking after that, remember?" Riki retorts. Sunoo isn't sure what to make of his attitude anymore. It's constantly shifting between mischievous and defensive.

"It's my turn now, right?" Riki asks as he slowly picks up his walking again. Sunoo nods, not knowing what else to do or say.

“Now what should I ask...”

Sunoo waits in anxiety as he holds his breath, not knowing what to expect from such a mischievous person—

“Why are you so obsessed with me?”

Sunoo sputters at the sudden question, and only continues sputtering as his brain fails to come up with a decent comeback. In the end, he only answers with a firm smack to Riki's head and burying his face in the crook of his neck.

Sunoo feels Riki's whole body chuckle as he asks, "Is that supposed to be your answer? I didn't know non-verbal answers were allowed in this game."

Sunoo delivers one last smack to Riki's arm. The latter sighs. "Okay, fine. Um...how old are you?"

"Nineteen." Sunoo mumbles.

"Really? I thought you were five."

Another smack to the arm. Riki ignores it and continues. "Do _you_ go to school?"

"Not often. I'm mostly homeschooled by my grandpa, and sometimes by Jay hyung."

"Who's Jay?"

"My cousin.”

"Oh, the guy from earlier. Huh, for a second I thought ‘Jay hyung’ might’ve been your brother. You don't have a brother, do you?”

"No, I don’t.“ Sunoo hesitates before revealing, "...I did have a sister, though.”

Riki slows his pace as he takes in this new information. "...I'm sorry."

Sunoo thinks he hears a little empathy in Riki's voice.

The two boys walk in breathless silence for a while. Riki seems to be thinking about something deeply, since he hasn't asked any new questions, so Sunoo decides to enjoy his surroundings in the meantime.

From up on Riki's back, Sunoo can feel the slight breeze ruffling his hair; he can hear an owl not so far away. He could also hear dry leaves crackling beneath them. 'It's so nice up here,' Sunoo thinks to himself, 'I could get used to this.'

Sunoo then rests his head on Riki’s shoulder, deeply breathing in the boy’s cologne. Although it may appear strange to some people, it’s become a sort of habit for Sunoo to take in the smell of people he’s with.

When he’s reading a book with Jay in bed, snuggled up against his chest with their legs intertwined, he could always pick up that earthy, forest smell with hints of coffee. The scent makes Sunoo feel grounded. Safe. Protected. When Sunoo is with his grandpa, he would always scrunch up his nose as the strange mixture of smoke and old books is rather unpleasant to him. Still, that scent strangely makes Sunoo feel comforted. When Sunoo first met Heeseung, he immediately knew he was a baker when his nose picked up the smell of bread and cookies.

But with Riki...Sunoo isn’t sure.

The most prominent scent Sunoo could pick up is mint. Fresh, clean, and bitterly pleasant. A little boring for Sunoo’s taste. However, there is another underlying scent, buried deep behind the fresh, bitter smell. His nose couldn’t pinpoint what it is, but it smells comforting.

Warm.

Soothing.

Welcoming.

A scent that completely contrasts with the other—

"Are you sniffing me?"

Sunoo snaps out of his trance at the boy's question. He could feel his ears burning red. "Oh, sorry. I have the habit to smell people when they're close to me."

"That's kinda creepy, don't you think?"

"Well in my case, it helps me to imagine what a certain person might look like. Even if I don't get their looks down to a 'T', it's fun to visualize from how they smell."

Riki only hums at the answer and continues walking. Sunoo isn't sure if he understood anything he said or he's just being ignorant.

“How are you so...okay with your life?" Riki suddenly asks, "Most disabled people I know are…depressed with their state. I just find it strange to see you so...”

Sunoo smiles forlornly at the question. “After the accident, I thought I didn’t have anything left. But I realized I was wrong. I’m still alive, and that’s what matters. I should enjoy this life when I still have it, with or without my eyes. It’s still worth it."

Sunoo lowkey expects Riki to reply with one of his sharp answers, but he surprisingly doesn’t. Instead, he asks, ”It’s because of an accident…you weren’t born...blind?”

"Yeah. It was years ago." Sunoo's breath hitches thinking back to that traumatic night. "I don't like talking about it though, so if you plan on asking about it—“

"No it's okay, I wasn't going to." Riki cuts Sunoo off, lightly adjusting Sunoo's weight before continuing forward. Sunoo's arms squeeze tighter around Riki’s shoulders.

The two fall back into a somewhat comfortable silence again. As Sunoo is about to fall asleep, Riki jolts him awake. "What's your favourite flavour of ice cream?"

"That's a little random."

"Well excuse me for trying so hard to think of a question."

Sunoo rolls his eyes and answers, "Mint chocolate. I like mint chocolate."

“No way!” Riki suddenly shouts, making Sunoo almost fall off his back in shock. The younger boy is quick enough to catch his legs, though, and adjust his weight comfortably on his back.

“Yah! You almost dropped me for a freaking ice cream flavor?! And I thought Jay hyung was the biggest mint choco anti—“

“No, no! You got it all wrong! I was surprised because you are the first person I've met who likes mint chocolate other than me!”

As reality hits him, Sunoo abruptly starts laughing and the other one is no less.

“I finally found an ice cream buddy!” Riki laughs out loud, only to stop himself when they hear a man scolding them for their loud voices.

“Maybe we can have ice cream together some time, then.” Sunoo whispers, leaning a little more on his side and holding back his laugh.

"I actually have a few buckets at home. If you weren't so sick, I could've lent you some. They're stocking up our freezer."

"How many is 'a few'?"

"...Twenty."

Sunoo fails to hold in his laugh, but he quickly covers it up by burying his face in Riki's shoulder.

"Jeez, you laugh so loud. I swear to god we're never gonna make it out of this neighbourhood alive if you keep laughing like that." Riki chuckles, "How many questions do I have left?"

"You asked seven, so only three more."

“Just three?” Riki complains causing Sunoo to laugh once more.

“I thought you didn’t like this ‘stupid’ game.”

“I still don’t like it,” Riki replies with a huff. ‘Cute’ Sunoo momentarily thinks to himself.

“Whatever you say... go on." Sunoo lets it slide and waits for Riki to ask him another question. Maybe the younger boy doesn't like the game, but Sunoo is definitely enjoying it.

“Do you have a hobby?”

“I’ve always loved to read! My grandpa would read me all the books he had in his library when I was little. A few years ago, he bought me a lot of interesting brailles. I’m lucky to have him around.” Sunoo smiles ear-to-ear as he recalls past memories with his grandpa.

“Wow, you seem to have a good relationship with your old man.”

“Of course! He’s like a father to me, I literally grew up with him.”

Sunoo doesn’t realize Riki has slowed his pace again until they’ve come to a complete halt. At that moment, Sunoo knows what he probably wants to ask. But as he was preparing himself to answer, Riki picks his pace back up and says, "You're lucky to have someone like him around."

Sunoo was about to ask what that meant, but Riki is quick to cut him off by asking, "Does your grandpa read books to you?"

"Yeah, sometimes. But I would usually go to Jay hyung for that. The way he voice acts the characters is entertaining."

“That’s nice...”

Sunoo is about to thank the boy when he's interrupted again: “But damn, who’s the real child here.”

Sunoo dramatically gasps at the diss, but before he could start another argument, Riki suddenly drops him, causing Sunoo to almost fall on his butt if it weren’t for his grip on the other’s jacket.

“Yah! Why did you—“ but he is interrupted as he feels one slender finger covering his mouth as soon as he opens it.

“Shh! Stop screaming or my neighbors will seriously send me a complaint.”

“Mpf… soffy.”

“Come in, we’re home”.

‘Home’. Sunoo doesn’t know why, but he likes the way that word came out of Riki’s mouth.

“Oh god, I’m never doing that again." Riki groans. From the sound of it, he's probably stretching his back. "I swear to god, if you’re still sick after this, don’t come looking for me for help.” Sunoo can feel the threat in his tone, but still, he can’t stop the laugh that comes out of his mouth.

“Don’t count on it,” Sunoo replies as he takes his hand in Riki’s and follows him into the house. Riki's guidance is essential for Sunoo since he’s in a brand new place to his senses.

"Riki?" A voice calls out once Sunoo and Riki enter his house. Not only was it a completely new voice to Sunoo, but also a new language he isn't familiar with.

The voice gets louder as the owner comes closer, shouting words that are incomprehensible to Sunoo. Beside him, Riki answers back to whatever the new stranger was asking, his voice dropping a few octaves as switches to his mother tongue.

Then, Sunoo feels a hand (that was definitely not Riki's) grab his own. The person's hand felt soft against his.

"Sunoo, the one who's holding your hand right now is my mom. She said you could stay here for the night, since now it's a little too late."

Sunoo sighs in relief and thanks the mother for her offer.

“Thank you so much, ma’am” Sunoo quickly replied by bowing to her.

The woman holds his hand a little tighter before letting go. Sunoo then hears steps turning away from him and a door shutting close.

He’s about to ask Riki what just happened between them when he feels a gentle movement to his bangs and one big ~~gentle~~ hand perch on his forehead.

Sunoo holds his breath by the sudden action but slowly relaxes after realizing the other one was just checking his fever. “You’re still hot. Tell me again, how did you get the brilliant idea to get out of the house at 1 in the morning?”

“Shut up”, and he removes his hand from his forehead. “Just tell me where the bed is, I’m tired...”

"We only have two bedrooms. I share a bunk bed with my sister, but I have a feeling she'll have my neck if I make her move outㅡ"

"Why would I have your neck?" Another new voice enters the conversation. Sunoo is having a hard time telling if this was Riki's sister or not, since the new person surprisingly spoke in Korean.

"And who is this?" Sunoo jolts at the person's voice. She sounds intimidating with her flat tone and sharp articulation.

"Konon..." Sunoo hears Riki grit through his teeth and immediately switches back to Japanese.

The two of them bicker for a while as Sunoo awkwardly stands to the side.

“Oh, so you’re telling me that this guy is your new boyfriend—“ Sunoo's ears turn red as he catches what Riki’s sister just said when she abruptly switched from talking Japanese to Korean.

“Shut your dirty mouth before I—“

“Want to fistfight little bro? I practiced from watching your old videos, I can throw a few strong punches nowadays, you know?”

Sunoo tilts his head at the weird banter between the siblings before him. But as he’s about to intervene and ask what the older sister (Konon?) meant by 'old videos', he hears her stomp back to her shared bedroom and slamming the door shut behind her, leaving a confused Sunoo standing next to Riki.

“So... where am I sleeping?”

“... On the couch.”

Sunoo gawks. "You're kidding right?"

"Nope. It's either the couch or my head on a platter."

"Honestly, I'd rather have the latter—“ Sunoo is cut off when Riki abruptly pulls him towards, what he assumes to be, the couch. He forces Sunoo on the worn-out cushion, much to the blind boy's chagrin.

"I'll fetch you some blankets. The pillows are already there. Make yourself comfortable."

Sunoo sits on the couch pouting, but it’s not like he could sleep on Riki’s sister’s bed. Still, Riki could have at least let him sleep on his bed. But Sunoo should’ve expected less from the boy. From what he already knows about him, he’s definitely not the type of person to do such things, and not with a stranger he just formally met today.

Still, after what they just did during their walk home — did that not mean anything? Sunoo quite nearly revealed everything about him, and he thought Riki had done the same. Sunoo thought for a second that they had really connected at some point.

Was everything Riki told him a lie, then? Had he been honest with Sunoo at all? Should Sunoo even trust him now?

As soon as Sunoo hears the younger coming back with blankets, Sunoo snatches one of the pillows from beside him and throws it in his direction. The pillow ends up hitting the floor, creating some comedically awkward tension between the two.

"Did you mean for that to hit me? You have terrible aim—"

"—Shut up. Just give me the blankets and leave."

“Yah, what's with the attitude?"

“I'm just tired. I need sleep. So can you please leave me alone now? You're only making my headache worse.”

Riki scoffs. “And here I thought you were grateful to me for saving your life, not once but twice”.

Sunoo only ignores him as he settles in his couch-bed for the night.

“So that's it? You're not gonna say anything else?” he hears the boy behind him asking, not willing to move away.

“Good night” Sunoo replies with the fakest smile he could muster. The last thing Sunoo hears before sleep overtook him is an insincere ~~heartbreaking~~ 'your welcome'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!! We’re back, again.  
> And yes, we’re late, as always. 
> 
> Anyway, happy sunki day everyone~  
> We hope you enjoyed this chapter, and also Happy Christmas’ Eve to you all~
> 
> Stay tuned for new chapters, even though we’re kinda slow in updating but you can count on us!! We’ll finish this story sooner or later XD
> 
> Again, happy sunki day umbrellas~
> 
> (And as always you can find us on twt as:  
> @_incorrectsunki and @sunkissest so feel free to ask us anything you want)


	4. Car Drive to Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sunoo already knows that Riki is complicated, and he changes his mood quite often the last time he saw him. How much worse could he be with a fever?

A strong smell of coffee jolts Sunoo awake. He hums while he stretches his limbs, still partly asleep, and buries his head in the pillow, wanting to get a little more time away from reality.

The coffee smell could only mean Grandpa was awake, which means Jay was awake as well, but Sunoo has too bad of a headache to bear with his noisy cousin this early in the morning. 

However, it was only until Sunoo hears melodic humming in an unfamiliar language, and a pillow that definitely doesn’t smell like his own that he realizes he’s not in his bed, nor in his bedroom, and for sure not in his house.

He sits up quickly only to yelp when his head bumps on something. Maybe a shelf, a wooden one considering how hard it was on his head.

And just like that, the events from last night surges through Sunoo's mind: the escape from his house, him fainting, and the stranger...Riki carrying him on his back, all the way to his house.

His house.

Sunoo sits up, runs a hand through his bedhead, and steadily stands up from the couch. Feeling like he’s more awake than before, he listens closely for the person humming. He follows the sound, cautiously feeling his way through the unfamiliar place, bumping into objects and walls a couple of times.

He finally feels his hand brush against someone’s shoulder. The voice abruptly stops humming.

"Ah! Good morning, Sunoo."

Sunoo immediately recognizes her voice and bows low, giving her a quick apology. He feels a hand run through his hair, untangle the knots and then rest on his shoulder. Sunoo takes it as an 'It's okay.'

Sunoo can feel Mrs. Nishimura's hands take his and guide him to what he assumes is the kitchen by the strong smells of food and coffee.

“Here." She sits him on a chair. “Breakfast?”

Sunoo nods at her. He silently sits, listening to her get some water boiling and soon after offer him a cup of hot tea. He can feel her still standing there, maybe looking for his response, so he utters a shy thanks. He then hears her go back to preparing her coffee again without saying another word.

‘ _Maybe she’s not comfortable speaking Korean._ ’

Suddenly, he hears a door creak from behind him and the sound of bare feet walking towards him.

"Hm, you're awake. I was wondering when you'd wake up."

Sunoo perks up at the voice, remembering that this girl was the reason he didn't get to sleep in a bed last night. As he’s about to lash out at the girl, he's interrupted when she asks if he’s still sick. Startled by her sudden concern, yet still too shy to speak, Sunoo shakes his head

"Okay. Good." The girl awkwardly coughs before speaking to her mother in Japanese. Sunoo hears her take a seat next to him. He sinks into his seat.

Sunoo was just about to return to drinking his cup of tea in silence when he hears her mention Riki. He perks up a bit.

'Right, where is Riki?'

He doesn’t realize he spoke his mind until he registers the awkward silence surrounding the room. “Only if I can ask about it, of course.” he stutters, desperately trying to save himself from the embarrassing situation.

“The little brat already left a few hours ago. Woke up at, like, four in the morning or something." The sister briefly explains, "The little brat was being so loud, I had a hard time going back to sleep afterwards. I'm surprised _you_ were able to sleep through it.”

Sunoo couldn’t control the shivers down his spine. He's a little terrified by her cold voice.

“Where did he go?”

  
  
“He just went to do his little hobby. He’ll be back later.” Sunoo thinks he hears her say ‘unfortunately’ at the end of that statement, but he brushes it off.

“Konon.” Sunoo hears the mother call out and ask something in Japanese. He isn’t quite sure what she asked, but it must be something bad because the way Konon responded was anything but happy.

After a minute's worth of arguing, Sunoo hears Konon stand up from her chair with a grunt and tap him on the shoulder, telling him to get up. Once he does, Konon grabs his wrist and leads him away from the dining room.

"Yah! Where are you taking me?!" Sunoo sputters.

"I'm driving you home."

"What? But I thought—"

"My mom _insists_ I do."

Before he knew it, Sunoo found himself sitting in a car, seatbelts fastened, with a loud Japanese rap song echoing in the vehicle. The car ride is longer than expected. It felt like an hour's worth of taking the wrong turn and hearing Konon scream foreign slurs at the drivers in front of her (Sunoo is pretty sure she was swearing because bad words were the only things he actually remembers from his middle school Japanese language class).

The question of why she even agreed to drive him home is still lingering on his lips, but he is too afraid to say a single word to her—

"Oi, if you have something to say, just say it. You look constipated." Konon suddenly (and harshly) breaks the silence.

Sunoo considered jumping out of the car right then and there. The embarrassment was way too much for him. However, knowing this would probably be the only time he’ll get to talk to the girl, he timidly asks, “Why were you so worried about Riki?”

"Why do you ask?"

"Back there, you sounded really frustrated with whatever Riki was doing."

"...I _was_. But if that's what's making you too scared to talk to me, just know that I'm not always like this." Konon quickly apologizes, "It's just...his attitude and the way he thinks irritates me."

"Was he always like that?"

"Like a complicated little shit? Not always. He just grew up to be like that, unfortunately."

"But why? Did something happen to make him act that way?"

Sunoo receives a silent answer.

‘ _Damnit, Sunoo. You really need to learn when you start taking things too far._ ' 

"Um- you don't have to answer if it's too personal. I'm just curious."

"Why _are_ you curious? From what I could understand, you and Riki have only known each other for, what, two days?"

"It's just that he's been very vague when it comes to talking about his childhood, and I—"

The car comes to an abrupt stop. Sunoo could hear the tires screech from outside.

"He told you about his childhood?" Konon sounds like she's in disbelief.

A car from behind suddenly honks at them and the driver is most likely cursing at them too. But Konon doesn’t seem to care about that at all. Hearing the panic in her voice, Sunoo couldn’t help but panic as well.

Did he say something wrong?

Was Riki’s childhood such a taboo to almost cause an accident? 

“No! He didn’t tell me anything about it! Please don’t leave me here on the road! If you don’t want to talk about it, I’ll just keep my mouth shut!” Sunoo dramatically begs for her mercy.

“What?! I’m not leaving you out here! My mom would kill me if I do! Damn, are you sure you’re friends with Riki? I really don't understand how he could stand you.”

‘ _Wow. Straightforward, honest, and rude, the lot of you._ ’

"We're not friends." Sunoo’s mind flashes back to the night before. "I don't think we'll ever be."

Konon scoffs.

"What?"

"If you guys were never friends, he would've never brought you home and let you stay the night. For all I know, he would've left you on the street and never bothered to help."

"But still, he's so..."

"Rude? Honestly, that's just the way he is. I don't know what else to tell you. But he's never always been this rude. He's just..."

"A complicated little shit?" Sunoo finishes. 

Konon snorts. "Yeah, that. But anyways, don’t worry too much about it, okay? I can tell you care about him and he cares about you...in some way”, she hesitates. 

Sunoo gulps at hearing those words and finds himself asking if what she said was right.

They had just met.

Why was he worrying about someone he just met?

“But trust me, these aren’t things you want to get involved with right now.” Sunoo just hums at her words and silently agrees. They stay in silence for a while until she suddenly stops the car again, this time less abruptly than before. “We’re here”, she says. “Or at least I think we are. Please tell me this is the right place. I don’t have any intention to change direction for the nth time” 

“Can you see a library and a bakery from here?” 

“Yeah, I think so. What’s the bakery called?”

“I-LAND Bakery.”

“Then we’re here.”

Sunoo unbuckles his seatbelt. “Thanks again.”

“It’s no prob. I...I should be thanking you for helping Riki. It’s been a long time since he brought home a friend.” 

Sunoo feels his cheeks heat up as he bows. “Thank you for taking care of me."

And just like that he gets out of the vehicle, takes his stick in his hands and silently heads towards the library

* * *

The next few days after that were uneventful to say the least. Sunoo wants to visit the convenience store again in hopes of bumping into Riki, but knowing their last encounter ended on the wrong foot, it probably isn't a good idea to visit him right now.

So, Sunoo falls back into routine.

However, it wasn’t too long until Sunoo heard about him again.

Sunoo woke up earlier than usual so he could spend the whole day cleaning his room, sorting some books in the library and preparing coffee for his grandpa and cousin. (Sunoo thinks that making breakfast for them for at least the whole week is a good way to ask for their forgiveness after sneaking out of the house last time).

But as he was ready to cook something, he realizes that there’s no more food in their pantry. So he decides to pop into the bakery across the street for a quick look.

Listening for oncoming cars, Sunoo quickly crosses the street and walks down the block to where the bakery is.

How does Sunoo know where the bakery is? After meeting Heeseung and finding out he works at the bakery near their library, he and Jay have been visiting the place non-stop. Sometimes it would be just to pick up bread and sweets and other times just to say a quick hi.

(But with Jay around, that quick ‘hi’ turns into a four hour conversation.)

As Sunoo gets closer to the bakery, he breathes in the fresh smell of cookies wafting in the air. He firmly taps his walking stick around him until he hears the solid glass door and swings it open.

The little bell above greets him, as well as a voice from afar. "Welcome! I'll be there to take your order in a bit." From the lack of people talking around him, there doesn't seem to be too many customers in the bakery today.

Sunoo makes his way through the store, his feet taking him to his usual spot: on a booth right next to a large window that let the sunlight in and lit up the place. He smiles slightly as the sun warms his face, still cold from the brief walk he had outside. 

“Oh, Sunoo!” Sunoo suddenly hears Heeseung speaking up as he takes a seat right next to him. The bakery is now silent, if not for their voices, meaning that they are completely alone now. Sunoo finds it reasonable given that it’s still early in the morning and there’s not so many people who are willing to wake up anytime soon.

“Yeah, but this time I didn’t take Jay hyung with me. Sorry hyung.” Sunoo teasingly replies.

"That's fine. I'm sure he's busy." Heeseung chuckles. Sunoo thinks he could hear the slightest disappointment in his airy laugh. "Anyway, are you here to buy something or did you just stop by to say hi?" 

"I have to buy some bread for breakfast. Umm, do you have any more of those...what are they called? The ones that are crescent shaped and very fluffy?" Sunoo asks, gesturing with his hands.

"Croissants? Yeah, I have a few more. How many do you want?"

"Five, please! And could I have one long baguette too?”

After placing his order, Sunoo props his head on his hand and basks in the warm sunlight streaming through the window beside him.

A phone suddenly blares, interrupting Sunoo's peace.

"This is I-LAND Bakery, what could I do for you?" 

"Ah, Ni-ki! I haven't heard from you in a while— wait why are you calling the bakery's number? Why don't you just call me on my cell?”

A few beats of silence. Heeseung groans. "You're so dramatic sometimes. What do you want now?"

"Soup? Why don't you just cook it yourself?"

"Don't try and act cute now. Just because you say that my soup is the best doesn't mean I'm going to drive for thirty-five minutes to your house.“

Sunoo cocks a brow at the ongoing conversation. Whoever this Ni-ki was, he sounds pretty demanding.

“—Why don’t you just ask your sister? I can’t just drop everything here at work for you. And I’m not going to fail my business for some spoiled kid like you!”

Sunoo can’t help but chuckle. Heeseung seems to be pretty close to whoever this ‘spoiled kid’ is and he finds the whole situation entertaining. 

“...Let me get this straight...”

Sunoo finds himself leaning in and listening closely to the ongoing conversation.

“You're telling me you’ve been home alone for two days, you’re sick with a fever and you _never_ told me until now?” Heeseung's voice keeps raising, until he brutally stops. Sunoo can tell he’s trying his best not to scream at whoever is on the other end of the phone. 

“Aish! Nishimura Riki, you’re seriously going to be the death of me for your irresponsibilities!”

Sunoo eyebrows raise and he sits up, fully interested in the conversation now that he knows who Heeseung was talking to.

Ni-ki was Riki?

He’s home alone?

He has a fever?

Sunoo couldn’t stop the countless thoughts running through his mind.

Was Riki sick because of him?

Why is he alone?

Should he help him?

Sunoo hears Heeseung tsk and slam something down on the counter. "Why are you home alone anyways? Are you allowed to be by yourself?”

“Still, you're a kid. You could've at least called me over a few days ago and let me take care of you."

Sunoo never knew how close Heeseung and Riki were until he heard how concerned Heeseung sounded for the younger. He has hardly heard the young baker sound this troubled.

Heeseung sighs. "Okay fine, just give me a couple of minutes and I'll be there...no, no! You don't need to apologize. I was just…I was worried."

A few silent pauses after that and Heeseung finally hangs up the phone.

"Hyung, are you okay?" Sunoo timidly asks. His voice must have startled Heeseung because he hears a yelp and a chair squeak against the floor.

"Holy crap, Sunoo! I forgot you were there. I'm so sorry to keep you waiting. That was just—“

"I know."

“…You know?”

"I-I mean I know who you were talking to. It was Nishimura Riki, right? The guy who saved me a few nights ago?”

"Wait, so you’ve met Riki already? When?"

"A few days ago. He helped get back home when I was lost."

" _Again?_ You really have a knack for getting lost, huh?"

"Haha, yeah." Sunoo nervously chuckles.

They are both quiet for a minute, with Sunoo still standing on his feet, uncertain of what he’s supposed to do next. 

“Is there something bothering you, Sunoo? You look troubled.” Heeseung asks.

Sunoo shakes his head, and follows his hyung’s voice into the kitchen. He taps with his right hand on the wall until he feels a shelf and leans on it.

It’s not like he’s going to come up as a weirdo for what he’s about to ask, right? 

“Heeseung hyung?”

“Hm?”  
  
“I heard you say that you can’t close the bakery to check on Riki and take care of him. I know he’s probably your closest friend and you’re worried about him, but...maybe I could help? I could make him the soup and look after him so you won’t have to leave work.”

"But what about your family? Didn't Jay tell you to never go anywhere without telling him or your grandpa?"

"If it has something to do with helping a friend of yours, I'm sure they wouldn't mind. Who knows, maybe Jay hyung would come along and help too."

"Has he met Riki though?”

"...No. But I'm sure they'll get along fine."

Despite his best efforts in trying to convince Heeseung, Sunoo couldn't seem to earn his trust. "Hyung, Riki has already helped me twice and I never properly thanked him and expressed how grateful I was for his help."

Sunoo bites his cheek, having no clue on how Heeseung will respond to such an answer. However, after a few seconds, he finally hears the older boy sigh, “Okay, fine. You’ve convinced me. But we need to go right now before other customers start coming in.”

All of a sudden, Heeseung takes Sunoo’s hand and drags him outside the kitchen. They stop for a few seconds as the older searches for something, probably his phone. Then he carries him off, and now they are outside. 

“W-where are we going, hyung?”, Sunoo asks again. 

“I’m going to drop you off at Ni-ki’s house, but I’ll try to be back as soon as I finish my shift.”

“But what about Jay hyung? Shouldn’t we tell him?”

“No need for that. I’ll just call him and tell him to come to the bakery and take his croissants.” But Sunoo can tell there’s actually something more in Heeseung’s intentions. 

“So you are going to cover for me?” 

“More like I’m going to distract him,” He puts his hand on Sunoo’s back. “I know how overprotective Jay could be of you, but if you’re willing to help me with this, then I’ll do whatever I can to convince him it’s okay. Don’t worry, I got your back. Now let's hurry!”

Without a moment to spare, the two guys run out of the bakery to Heeseung's car. Heeseung guides Sunoo to the front passenger's seat and helps him buckle up before starting the car.

"We might have to stop by the store and grab some stuff first. Apparently Ni-ki has no vegetables to cook with."

"Hyung if you don't mind me asking, how long have you and Ni-ki known each other?"

" _Long_. I would say ever since Ni-ki was, like, in elementary. His sister and I used to hang out a lot before I started high school." Heeseung sighs, reminiscing about the past, "I wasn't really fond of him at first because he was pretty spiteful at his age. But after helping babysit him and his sisters, I grew to love him."

Sunoo blinks. ‘ _Sisters? Does Riki have more than one? Maybe I misheard._ ’

“So they‘ve been here in Korea for a quite a while now. I don’t know why I assumed they came here just recently.” Sunoo says to himself a little too loudly to not let Heeseung hear him. 

“Oh well, you’re not completely wrong.” The older quickly replies, “Before moving to the city, they lived in a small suburban town that’s close to the airport. They would move back and forth between there and Japan, but their mom would mostly stay in Japan for quite some time as she still had to help her family business.”

“So that’s why she’s not that fluent in Korean.” Sunoo mumbles. 

Heeseung stops for the car. Sunoo guesses they’re at an intersection. “So you already met his mother, huh?” 

Sunoo can feel the blood rushing to his cheeks at the question. He could hear the teasing tone in his hyung’s voice. For sure he still has a lot to talk about him and Riki.

“Anyway, yeah. I guess we can say that’s why.” Heeseung continues. “They eventually moved here because of their father’s work, but they still find some time to visit their home country.”

Sunoo nods, remembering what Riki told him, or at least what Sunoo could understand by his cryptical words back then.

"So you know Riki's father?"

"Only a little. But that's because I hardly see him around. Back then when Ni-ki was still a kid, I would sometimes see his father here and there. But he's always gone by the next hour. Konon told me it's because he works at some huge company and so he's always in-and-out of their house, only coming to visit whenever he can."

Heeseung stops the car abruptly. Sunoo tenses up. "Sorry," Heeseung chuckles, "Red light. Anyways, the last I heard of him was when Konon told me he got promoted somewhere here in Seoul. I haven't seen the man since."

Sunoo hums, thinking back to what Riki said when he told him about his grandpa:

_"You're lucky to have someone like him around."_

"So Riki never had a proper father figure when he grew up." Sunoo mumbles, now feeling more ashamed about how rude he treated Riki back then.

They continue their ride in silence for the remaining five minutes, alongside a soft melody on the radio. Sunoo is too busy dwelling on things he recently learned about Riki, while Heeseung is probably too focused on what he’s going to say and do to entertain (and distract) Jay later on.

This went on for some time, but eventually Heeseung spoke up when they finally arrived at their first destination: the grocery store. 

Sunoo waits for Heeseung in the car, who went to go buy some vegetables for the sick boy. Not a minute later, Heeseung comes back in the car and hands Sunoo bags full of food.

“Now remember, Ni-ki doesn’t like spicy things, only salty. And the soup must be boiling. Like, extremely hot! Or else he wouldn’t eat it at all.”

Sunoo only nods, taking in this new, overwhelming amount of information. 

“Also, don’t mind that kid if he gets a bit...bipolar, okay? If he screams at you and insults you at some point and then asks you to cuddle him to sleep, don’t ask why. He’s just like that.” Heeseung sighs, presumably remembering those ‘not so longing’ past memories. 

“Okay?” Sunoo stutters, not really knowing how to feel about this. He already knows that Riki is complicated, and he changes his mood quite often the last time he saw him. How much worse could he be with a fever?

Just as Sunoo was contemplating if he made the right decision to help or not, they finally arrived at their destination.

With help from Heeseung in unloading the grocery bags from the backseat of the car and carrying them, Sunoo walks up to the Nishimuras' door and knocks. He hears some shuffling coming from inside and he feels the warm air from inside the house wash over him as the door swings open.

"Took you long enough. My head was killing…me..." Riki trails off. Sunoo assumes that the younger boy is glaring down at him. "Hyung, why is _he_ here?"

"Yah, what's with that tone?"

"That doesn't answer my question. Why did you bring him along?"

"Actually," Sunoo interrupts, "It was _my_ decision to come here, not Heeseungie hyung's. I wanted to thank you properly for helping me twice now—“

"It's no problem. There, you can leave now."

Sunoo clenches his jaw at the younger's attitude, but tells himself that it's probably the fever talking. He feels a hand come on his shoulder. Heeseung breaks the silence. "Actually, he's here to cook your soup. I don't have time to help you right now because I'll be really busy running the cafe today, so Sunoo offered to help."

Silence surrounds them. Sunoo can feel shivers all over his back and he’s not able to tell if it’s due to the cold weather or the cold gaze he could feel on him. Maybe both.

“Listen, I appreciate your concern for me,“ Riki finally starts to speak, and Sunoo can’t stop the frown forming on his face as he hears the touchable sarcasm in his words. “But I _really_ don’t need your _pity_ right now. Thanks.”

And just like that, the door slams on their faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well,, hello?
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